My Secret Garden

Last summer I found this book sitting on a table at the store. The cover showed this beautiful quilt with so much applique. I bought the book for what ever reason we buy something that we figure we will never use. Then, I showed the book to Kathryn. She showed it to others and we are all thinking this would be the quilt to make.

So, in September '08 the five of us started meeting on Mondays to sew. We decided we would start the quilt in January giving us time to find fabric. For Anita, this was hard as she really loves her kits. She picked out her fabric based on what was used in a quilt at the Attic Window. Ruby found fabric while traveling - the same fabric that Anita originally looked at. Wilma had fabric in her stash and added much to it. I think Kathryn did the same.

January came and we started sewing. By this time, I had gathered too much fabric and was struggling to get colors to work. I made my first two blocks for the top left corner and started on the first applique block. I worked 3 days just to get the stem on that block. But, I couldn't get past the first two blocks and that the colors where not what I wanted - too dark, too stark. By this time, everyone else was done with the second section of blocks and cruising on through the quilt.

In March, I am still working on the quilt and have cut my second set of leaves for the first applique block. Some of us were still thinking hand applique and others were going to machine. During a Saturday that many of us sew together, I looked over at Sandy - expert hand appliquer and long arm quilter. I get up and ask Sandy if I could hire her to do my applique, never knowing she would say Yes! Now I had to start making block kits of all the applique blocks so that I could give them to Sandy at our guild's retreat in April.

At the Attic Window's 1st UFO Night, my neighbor and friend Donna said she had told me she would do the applique for me. So, I picked up a baggie and gave her the brick wall block with it's 3 bias stems and 28 leaves. Now, I had subcontracted my applique to two excellent appliquer leaving me with only the pieced blocks.

During this time, first Kathryn finished her quilt. Quickly followed by Anita. Though Anita's border fabric just wasn't working and she did a search at the Attic Window and found a much better border fabric - something to pull all the blocks together and more closely resembling the designer's border fabric. These two also had their tops quilted and now have finished their quilts.

Wilma came in third (no, I had no idea this would be a race) and passed her quilt top onto Sandy (see above expert) for quilting. Now, Ruby being the gentlewoman that she is took pity on me and took her time deciding on her border fabric. After a few purchases and changes, she settled on a striped border fabric. While waiting for delivery of the fabric, I was able to finish making kits for each block - except one. I have found that a great way of doing this type of quilt is to make the block kits and then, when there is time to sew you can get it done quickly.

My second to the last block gave me difficulty and was set aside for a few days. Came back to it fresh and redid a few cuts (hate those sixteenth inch cuts) and the block went together finally. But, now I was left with the last block under the checkerboard at the top right of the quilt. The block called sunshine was just not gelling for me. Couldn't find the right fabrics and after getting a lot of help from friends and coworkers, I decided to toss the designer's block and with Claudia's help found a paper pieced block that I liked so much more - the compass star. A little struggle again with color until I decided it was my quilt and I had already changed it, so do something I like. And I love the block, 2 light to medium yellows and purple, great.

Ruby finished her quilt and it also went to Sandy for quilting. This last weekend I finished my quilt at our Saturday sewing day, 3 months since I asked Sandy to do my applique. Tomorrow, I hope to put an eye on my bird. Friday, I will show it to some friends and then, this weekend it goes to.....wait for it......yes, Sandy for quilting. This will be the third My Secret Garden for her to quilt.

We are all going to have our quilts in the Harvest of Quilts show in October, hopefully grouped together. In September, the Attic Window will have Cindy Lammon's trunk show. Ms. Lammon is the designer of our quilts and we all want our quilts to be there.

My thanks to my subcontractors: Sandy and Donna for doing such beautiful work and helping me actually get a quilt top done so quickly.